Colorado GMU 124 Mule Deer Hunting
Crowley and Pueblo counties, southeast Colorado · 585 sq mi
Based on the EASIEST unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt code available to adult Colorado residents in the 2026 primary draw — the lowest preference-point tier that drew reliably. Private-land-only and Ranching for Wildlife hunts are excluded because neither is a unit-wide public-land opportunity — NOT because the public cannot draw them. A private-land-only license requires the hunter's own permission to hunt private ground; a Ranching for Wildlife license is valid on the participating ranches enrolled in that program. They are separate systems. Other weapons, seasons and nonresident applicants can require substantially more points. The band is a floor, not a target: even the easiest qualifying hunt here sits in that range.
What hunting GMU 124 is like
Game Management Unit 124 lies in the low-elevation country of Crowley and Pueblo counties in southeast Colorado. The unit spans 585 square miles across terrain that is uniformly gentle and rolling, with elevations ranging from 4,300 feet at the low end to 5,400 feet at the high end and averaging around 4,700 feet. The landscape presents no steep or rugged ground—the unit is entirely gentle by area share—making it physically walkable throughout.
Public hunting access is severely limited. The unit is approximately 94 percent private land. Of the publicly owned ground, about 1.1 percent (roughly 6 square miles) is Bureau of Land Management land that is generally open to public hunting. An additional 5.3 percent (roughly 31 square miles) is Colorado State Trust Land, but it is huntable only on parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program; which parcels are enrolled is not specified here and must be verified before planning a hunt. Legal access to huntable ground, not terrain difficulty, is the controlling constraint on this unit.
Mule deer are mapped across the unit's full overall range, but winter range comprises only 1 percent of the unit's acreage. This pattern indicates that mule deer are not resident across GMU 124 year-round; the species is expected to occupy the unit during fall and early winter but to concentrate on winter range—likely on ground outside the unit—as conditions tighten. A hunter applying for this unit should expect deer presence to shift as the season progresses, with timing and extent varying based on weather and snow accumulation.
The unit offers three seasons for mule deer hunting. Archery runs September 2–September 30 and is either-sex. Muzzleloader runs September 12–September 20 and is doe or buck. Plains Early Rifle, the single rifle season, runs October 24–November 3 and is doe or buck. The draw for this unit is easy; adult Colorado residents often draw the easiest qualifying unit-wide either-sex hunt at zero preference points. Hunter pressure on the unit is extreme.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,300–5,400 ft, typically around 4,700 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.1°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~6 sq mi, plus ~31 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 1% of GMU 124 is public land a hunter can count on — BLM. A further 5% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- BLM1%
- State Trust Land5%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private94%
Colorado State Trust Land is open to public hunting only where it is enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program. Check current enrollment before planning around it.
Where mule deer live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps mule deer seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 124 each range covers — the single best clue to whether mule deer are here in September, in November, or only passing through. The layers overlap, so they do not add to 100%.
- Overall Range100%the full extent of range CPW maps for mule deer — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when mule deer are present
- Winter Range<1%used in winter
Mule Deer seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | September 2 – September 30 | Either-sex |
| Muzzleloader | September 12 – September 20 | Doe, Buck |
| Plains Early Rifle | October 24 – November 3 | Doe, Buck |
Dates span every hunt code of that type in this unit and can differ by code. Confirm the current brochure with Colorado Parks & Wildlife before applying.
GMU 124 mule deer hunting FAQ
How much public land is actually huntable here without needing private permission?
Approximately 1.1 percent of the unit—roughly 6 square miles—is Bureau of Land Management land generally open to public hunting. An additional 5.3 percent is Colorado State Trust Land, but it is huntable only on parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, and enrollment status must be verified. Legal access, not terrain, is the limiting factor on this unit.
Will mule deer be here in late October and November?
Mule deer are mapped across the unit's full range, but winter range comprises only 1 percent of the unit. Hunters should expect deer to shift toward winter range—likely concentrated outside the unit—as fall advances and weather tightens. Timing and extent of that movement vary with weather and snow.
Is the terrain actually walkable for a foot hunter?
Yes. The entire unit is gentle and rolling terrain with no steep or rugged ground, making it physically manageable to cover on foot. However, legal access to public land remains the real constraint; even easily walkable terrain is not huntable without permission or public land.
Can a first-time applicant with zero points draw a tag here?
Yes. The draw for GMU 124 is easy, and adult Colorado residents often draw the easiest qualifying unit-wide either-sex hunt at zero preference points. Other seasons, weapons, and nonresident applicants may require substantially more points.
How crowded is this unit during the hunts?
Hunter pressure on the unit is extreme. This reflects the volume of hunters afield, not the difficulty of drawing a tag; an easy-to-draw unit near populated areas can still see very heavy hunting pressure once hunters are in the field.
Which season falls in the rut?
Neither archery nor muzzleloader coincides with the rut; both fall during the velvet-shed phase in early September. The rifle season (October 24–November 3) spans the early fall migration and early pre-rut phases, occurring before the primary rut, which runs November 11–25.
Data sources & methodology
- Colorado Parks & Wildlife — Big Game hunting — seasons, weapons, hunt codes and license types
- CPW — Primary Draw rules — how preference points and the hybrid draw work
- CPW — Deer statistics, draw recap and Drawn Out At reports — the point levels behind the draw-difficulty bands
- CPW — Secondary Draw — licenses remaining after the primary draw
- CPW — Maps and GIS (Species Activity Mapping) — mule deer seasonal range
- CPW — State Trust Land Finder — which State Trust acreage is enrolled and open to public hunting
- Federal and state land-ownership datasets — land ownership and access
- NOAA climate normals — fall weather
Draw difficulty is a qualitative band, not published odds — the note under the summary above states exactly which hunt code it describes. Land shares are separate, non-overlapping categories: publicly owned is not the same as open to hunting, and State Trust Land is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it. Unit data last updated August 31, 2026.